When it comes to a digital camera, it’s typically up to a camera’s manufacturer to develop its software. On the other side of the digital world, in the world of smartphones, a single operating system is generally installed on a wide array of different devices. Google’s Android, for example, has been released as an open source platform, allowing companies far and wide to use it with their smartphones, tablets, and other devices.

Companies like Samsung, HTC, and Motorola are already releasing countless Android powered smartphones; and over the span of just a few years have seen massive success. While Android has expanded into the realm of tablets (thanks to new versions like ‘Honeycomb’ 3.0 and the more recent ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ 4.0) it’s not often we see devices that move away from this category (e.g. mobile computing) hit the market running the platform. The Polaroid SC1630 camera is one of the first steps in this direction we’ve seen.

However, according to recent reports, it seems that companies like Samsung may be looking to change that. The report suggests that several companies are looking at the viability of an Android powered camera. What exactly this entails we aren’t quite sure, but it would definitely seem a bit strange to see someone playing Angry Birds on their SLR. Of course, it would also open up a whole slew of possibilities in terms of third party software.

As I mentioned above, typically the manufacturer of any given camera is responsible for its software updates, which may or may not include new features. This would change if Android were to make its way onto the camera scene, as developers across the globe would be able to produce software for any compliant camera.

While nothing has been confirmed yet (other than Samsung saying they are looking at the idea) I would definitely be very interested to see what could come from this.